The Boston Marathon is my No. 1 A race every single year I’m fortunate enough to qualify, get accepted, and run from Hopkinton to Boylston St. I knew the 2020 Boston Marathon would be my best race yet (I think that every year though).
Instead, my 2020 Boston Marathon ended up taking place in Las Vegas. Twice. On the original Marathon Monday, April 20, I ran 26.2 from house down to the strip. At that point I still anticipated running in Boston on the rescheduled date of Sept. 14. Covid-19 had different plans.
So a week ago I ran my second, and hopefully final, Nevada version of the Boston Marathon.
I drove north up to my chosen starting point at Mt. Charleston and imagined the normal buses full of runners headed to Hopkinton. The ride time was similar but missing the normal buzz from other marathoners readying to take on the most prestigious course in the world. In Boston, I would have chatted with those around me about goals and the course breakdown as we all checked the weather obsessively.
My mother, my sole crew member for the day, focused through the windows to remember my aid station roads I pointed out along the way. We watched my parents’ Jeep temperature gauge drop all the way below 40 degrees.
At my designated starting point, I hopped out and headed to a port-o-potty. Headlamp on, I tried to use the bathroom with no luck. So I did some leg swings and checked my printer paper bib. My friend Brad photoshopped it red for me, because I was definitely in the first wave that morning.
I shivered a little as my mom counted down from 10 and mimicked a starter pistol.
I smiled.
This year has been frustrating for so many people. Covid-19. Unrest and cries for justice in our nation. Hurricanes (the reason my parents were here in Las Vegas after evacuating Louisiana). Fires. Constant angry rhetoric.
But in that moment, all of that melted away for me. I focused on moving my feet. Left, right, left, right. After months of stifling heat, I sucked in cold mountain air. I picked to run my virtual 2020 Boston Marathon on Thursday to take advantage of a 2-day cool front.
I pictured all of the fans who normally line the route all the way from the starting line into the heart of Boston. And less than two miles in, I had to stop to use the bathroom. In Boston, a stop that early would have been disastrous and embarrassing depending on where I could find cover. For my Marathon Thursday, I had the bushes along the side of the road to myself. Because I started at 5 a.m., it was still pitch black. In a normal race, I would have been furious at such an early bathroom stop. But up close to Mt. Charleston, I just looked up at thousands of stars.
I smiled again.
I’ve had several months of consistent training, and my goal was to run faster than three hours. From the start I was on pace. Even with four total bathroom stops (two were long, or should I say 2 were long?) I never worried about missing my sub 3 goal.
The sun creeped into the sky in front of me as I ran down Kyle Canyon Road. Most of my route is the same as Revel Mt. Charleston. The downhill grade was slightly uncomfortable, but I worked to keep my feet underneath my hips.
Very few cars passed me in either direction. My mother did an incredible job as my race crew. She refilled my water bottle and handed me gels at miles 8, 15.5, and 20, and she made other stops along the way to cheer and take pictures and videos.
A few times I tried to correlate my mileage with that spot on the Boston Marathon course. I pictured myself running down the steep hill into Wellesley and the halfway point. But most of the morning was a blur. I was just waiting to hit 26.2 on my watch.
After I exited Kyle Canyon Road, I ran along Hwy. 95’s frontage road then across headed for my end point at Floyd Lamb Park. I hit the park’s crushed gravel trail with one mile to go. For the first time the entire morning, my legs felt tired. But there wasn’t a true wall. “I can do anything for a single mile,” I told myself. My watch showed 26.2 and I kept going another .05. Just in case.
Hitting pause, and then save immediately after, I smiled again.
I would rather have finished with a right on Hereford and a left on Boylston. My preference is always to feel that Boston Marathon finish line energy and see the faces of the wonderful volunteers smiling all around as one hands me another unicorn medal.
As I finished with Nevada mountain views all around and my mom there to hug me, I realized my virtual Boston was perfect for 2020.
My official time of 2:51:01 is two seconds faster than my first Boston finish in 2017. It was exactly six minutes slower than my fastest in 2018. And it was much faster than last year’s blowup. Subtracting my bathroom stops, I ran 2:46. Not bad for solo down a Nevada mountain.
I don’t know what 2021 will bring — I hope to be in Boston, in person, prepared to have the race of my life.
I hope to keep my consecutive years streak alive as long as possible (this year makes four straight medals earned). And when I look at my unicorn medals all lined up one day, I will see 2020 and smile again.